The Wrap Rnd 6 1st June The Wrap Round 6 1st June | Page 8

Round 6
Game Previews
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Gold Coast Rollers v North Gold
Coast Seahawks
Gold Coast (3-1) will be eager to get
back on the court after a 19-day break.
The Rollers have not played since
Round 3 where they defeated the
visiting Rockhampton Rockets by 7
points. Spencer Parker is coming off
a 29-point outburst in the victory
and is currently averaging 25 a game
which is good enough for fifth best
in the league over the first five weeks.
North Gold Coast are coming off a
Round 5 loss against the visiting Logan
Thunder. The Seahawks struggled
from start to finish as they fell to a
13-point half time deficit and were
unable to bridge the gap as they went
down by 14. Quinton Campbell put
up 22 and 8 boards for the home side
but did not receive a lot of help from
his teammates. This shapes up as a
big game on the Gold Coast and we
expect the Rollers to take the victory
over their crosstown rivals.
Gladstone Port City Power Surge v
Sunshine Coast Phoenix
Gladstone suffered their fourth
straight defeat in Round 5 as they
struggled on the road against the
second-placed Meteors in Mackay.
After a strong first quarter which saw
the Surge jumping out to an early
14-point deficit, the Meteors quickly
erased the deficit as they went into
the main break with a three-point
lead. Gladstone were no match for
the home side in the second half
as they eventually went down by 19
points. After opening the season with
three consecutive victories, Sunshine
Coast’s undefeated streak came to
an end to Southern Districts in Round
4. Big man Eric McAlister has had a
strong start to the season averaging
26 a night he will be a tough cover
for Gladstone Friday night. With a
Saturday night matchup in Mackay the
following night, Phoenix will see this
game as the must win of the weekend
and we believe they should bounce
back and leave Gladstone victorious
in a close one.
Brisbane Capitals v USC Rip City
The Capitals find themselves outright
first on the QBL ladder and boast
the only undefeated record at 6-0.
Brisbane made light work of both USC
and Southern Districts in Round 4 as
they won both contests by 18 and 16
points respectively. Jason Cadee was
the Round 4 Player of the Week as
he put in 28.0 points and 5.5 assists
across the two games. Rip will need
look to turn around the result of their
Round 4 match against Brisbane, this
time at Auchenflower Stadium. USC
currently sit just outside the playoff
picture at 9th and will get no better
opportunity to claim a big scalp
and kickstart their season. With five
Capitals players averaging double
figures over their first six matches,
they should too many options and
easily account for the visitors as they
extend their undefeated start to seven
games.
Ipswich Force v South West Metro
Pirates
Ipswich will be aiming to get back
on the winner’s list after a tough 0-2
weekend up north against Townsville
and Cairns back in Round 4. The
Force were able to push the Heat
to double overtime before falling
just short and backed it up with a
disappointing output against Cairns.
Kyle Harvey is currently the league’s
leading scorer but unfortunately, this
has not been transferring into wins
as Ipswich find themselves at 1-4 and
giving up the most points a night
in the competition. After a strong
13-point Round 4 win over Logan,
the Pirates fell agonisingly short to
the Meteors the following day. South
West gave up another fourth-quarter
lead for the third time this season
and will need to start finding a way
to close out games if they are to
get themselves out of their current
2-4 hole. The Pirates look the better
team in this one and should escape
Llewellyn Stadium with the W.
North Gold Coast Seahawks v
Townsville Heat
North Gold Coast will be backing
up after a Friday night hit out
against Gold Coast as they reigning
champions come to town. Townsville
only managed 67 points for the entire
game against the Marlins in Round 5
after averaging 99 a game over their
first 3. Peter Crawford and Matthew
Rees were the major contributors for
the visitors with 23 and 14 respectively.
After a strong first three rounds, Jono
Mines will be looking to bounce back
after a disappointing 2-point effort on
1-10 shooting against Cairns. Townsville
will be embarrassed by their Round 5
performance and will be determined
to return to their opening month form
as they face the 12th placed Seahawks.
The Heat to get back on the winner’s
list and start their double header
weekend in style.
Rockhampton Rockets v Cairns
Marlins
For the second time this season the
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